Guest Post: Clueless + Werewolves = YA Author Kathleen Peacock!

Hello, all! I'm THRILLED to share today's guest post with you! Please give a warm welcome to Kathleen Peacock, a YA author whose debut Hemlock will be out this May! Since Kathleen's novel includes werewolves, I figured I'd ask her to write about which werewolf she'd love to see in a YA book. But to be totally honest, her idea was MUCH better.

Check it out below!

Clueless: The Whatever Edition

When I was first asked to guest post on which movie werewolf should have their own YA novel, my first thought was, “Awesome!” That thought was immediately followed by the sound of crickets chirping. Gingernaps? I wouldn’t want to read an entire book from Ginger’s PoV. An American Werewolf in London? David wasn’t bitten until after high school and we all know how hard it is to sell YA with a protagonist over eighteen. Oz from Buffy? Not a movie and can you imagine an entire book told from Oz’s PoV? You’d be lucky if you could get him to say enough to scrape together five chapters. Double spaced.

So I did the only thing I could think of: I asked if I could pick a movie that was based on a book and add werewolves to the plot. And the movie I came up with? None other than Amy Heckerling’s totally classic Clueless.

Now just hear me out… Clueless is actually a slick reboot of Jane Austen’s Emma. Both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility have gotten the monster treatment (with zombies and sea monsters, respectively). Plus, think about how totally awesome it would be if Cher was both fashionista AND furball.

Still not convinced? Just take a look at how these lines from the movie could easily be tweaked to reflect the werewolf angle.

Original: Okay, so you're probably going, "Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?" But seriously, I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl.

The Werewolf Edition: Okay, so you're probably going, "Is this like a Purina commercial or what?" But seriously, I actually have a way normal life for a teenage werewolf.

Original: Christian said he'd call the next day, but in boy time that meant Thursday.

The Werewolf Edition: Christian said he'd give me a howl the next day, but in werewolf time that meant the next full moon.

Original:

Mel: You mean to tell me that you argued your way from a C+ to an A-?

Cher: Totally based on my powers of persuasion, you proud?

Mel: Honey, I couldn't be happier than if they were based on real grades.

The Werewolf Edition:

Mel: You mean to tell me that you threatened your way from a C+ to an A-?

Cher: Totally based on what big teeth I have, you proud?

Mel: Honey, I couldn't be happier than if they were based on real grades.

A HUGE thank you to Kathleen for stopping by and making me 1) fangirl Clueless even more, and 2) make me laugh so. Hard. Make sure you buy your copy of Hemlock when it hit stores May 8th! 

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. 

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. 

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. 

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. 

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.